Drain baffle for self-balancing washing machines



Nov. 2, 1965 G. N. STARR ETAL 3,214,946

DRAIN BAFFLE FOR SELF-BALANCING WASHING MACHINES Original Filed Nov. 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS eorge N fiaz r Nam Z71 L. Pellerzli/ ATFORNEYS Nov. 2, 1965 G. N. STARR ETAL 3,

DRAIN BAFFLE FOR SELF-BALANCING WASHING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Nov. 28, 1958 INVENTORS $601396 M Shzrr Non m Z1. PeZZcTZZz BY w Wm ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,214,946 DRAIN RAFFLE FOR SELF-BALANCING WASHING MACHENES George N. Starr and Norvin L. Pellet-in, New Orleans, La., assignors to Pellerin Milnor Corporation, New Orleans, La., a corporation of Louisiana Original application Nov. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 776,944, now Patent No. 3,117,926, dated Jan. 14, 1964. Divided and this application July 2, 1963, Ser. No. 292,339

6 Claims. (Cl. 68-24) This application relates to means for draining the balancing compartments of self-balancing washing machines of the type described in our co-pending US. patent application Serial No. 776,944, filed Nov. 28, 1958, now US. Patent No. 3,117,926, of which this application is a division.

In self-balancing washing machines of this type, a rotating container for the articles to be Washed carries a plurality of peripherally spaced balancing compartments, and means are provided for introducing a balancing fluid, usually water, into a selected compartment or compartments in response to signals received from a vibration sensing device, which signals indicate which sector of the rotating container, if any, is overloaded relative to the others.

Such machines are ordinarily successively operated at three distinct speeds:

(l) Tumbling speed, which may be approximately 35 r.p.m., during which the direction of rotation is frequently reversed. This speed is used to tumble the clothes about for washing purposes.

(2) Draining and distributing speed which may be about 61 r.p.m. This is used while the water used for washing is drained off the clothes, and also serves to distribute the clothes fairly evenly around the Walls of the clothing container, under the influence of centrifugal force. The presence of water in the rotatable container when its speed is first increased to distributing speed is advantageous since it facilitates distribution of the clothes about the periphery of the container.

(3) Extraction speed which may be about 1000 r.p.m. and used to extract water from the previously distributed clothing by centrifugal force, the water passing out through the walls of the container, which are perforated.

Due to the position of these balancing compartments it is impossible to prevent water from getting into them when the container is full of water during the tumbling step, but this is not in itself a problem, since balancing is not required during the tumbling and washing operation.

Once, however, the speed of rotation has been raised to the draining and distributing speed, while Water will drain readily from the central container, centrifugal force tends to retain it in the balancing compartments, and its presence in these compartments is thereafter objectionable, since it reduces the effective volume of said compartments available to receive balancing fluid and thus their capacity to counteract such imbalance as may occur.

Our invention, accordingly, comprises special means to facilitate the drainage of the balancing compartments at speeds greater than tumbling speed, thus permitting our machine to secure the full benefit of both the presence of water in the drum at draining or distributing speed, and the absence of Water in the balancing compartments by the time a sufiiciently high speed has been attained to make utilization of the balancing compartments important.

A preferred embodiment of my invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical axial section through a self-balanc- 'ice ing washer extractor equipped with our new means for draining the balancing compartments; and

FIG. 2 is an end view of the rotating drum showing the drain baflies which characterize our invention.

Like reference numerals denote like parts throughout both views.

Referring now to FIG. 1 it will be seen that our machine comprises a base 10 comprising approximately vertical walls 11 which form a housing supporting a horizontal cylindrical portion 11a provided with axial openings 12 and 13 at each end. A drive shaft 14 turns in bearing means 15, and projects into the cylindrical portion 11a of the housing, through the axial opening 12. A rotatable clothes-carrying drum 16 is fixed to the inner end of the shaft 14 and provided with a plurality of small holes 17 in its cylindrical outer wall 18. Three hollow ribs 19a, 19b, and 19c are equally spaced about this cylindrical outer wall, and project inwardly therefrom. The end of drum 16 which is connected to the drive shaft 14 is closed by a wall 20, and an assembly of feed rings 21a, 21b and 21c is fixed to this wall and to the shaft 14. As best seen in FIG. 1, these feed rings are open all along their inner sides so as to receive any water projected axially thereinto and retain it while they are being rotated at a speed sufficient to cause centrifugal force to throw the water so projected against the outer peripheries of the rings. Each hollow rib 19 projects past the wall 20 to overlap the rings 21a, 21b, 21c, and each ring communicates with the projecting portion of one of said ribs through the channels 22a, 22b, 220. Water is introduced into the feed rings through the injector pipes 23a, 23b, 230.

The end of the drum 16 opposite the Wall 20 is provided with an axial opening 24 which registers with a corresponding opening 13 in the cylindrical housing 11a, through which the clothes are introduced and which is closed during operation of the machine by a glass door (not shown) which is provided with inlet means through which water may be introduced into the cylinder 16.

Means for driving the rotating drum at the three different speeds mentioned are shown at the right of FIG. 1 and more fully described in connection with my copending application, Ser. No. 776,944, which also describes in detail the means by which balancing fluid is directed to whatever rib or ribs should be supplied with said fluid in order to reduce imbalance and consequent vibration.

As previously indicated, in order that the balancing arrangement may be fully effective it is essential that the balancing ribs be as nearly empty as possible when the machine is speeded up from distributing to extraction speed so as to leave as much room as possible for the introduction of balancing liquid.

During the washing operation, each time the ribs dip into the water in the cylindrical housing 11a, water flows into the balancing ribs. The washing operation is performed at tumbling speed (circa rpm), which is low enough so that each time the ribs above the water level at least partially drain out through the spaces 83 between the inner walls of the ribs and the outer periphery of the feed rings. Unfortunately, the ribs which are immersed refill.

However, at the drain and distributing speed of about 61 r.p.m., which is used to distribute the clothes about the periphery of the container, the centrifugal force developed is sufiicient to force any water picked up by the ribs to the outer portions thereof away from the spaces 88, so that the ribs do not drain. This has presented a serious problem since the volume of water retained by the ribs in this manner has been found to be so large as to reduce their balancing capacity by more than one third.

If, on the other hand, drain holes were provided at the outer edges of the ribs, any balancing fluid introduced thereto during extraction would immediately be thrown out due to the centrifugal force exerted at this higher speed.

This problem has been met by providing outlets 89 at the outer edges of the rib walls 90, and baffles 91 athwart said outlets which extend transversely inward from the circumferential periphery of said drum adjacent said outlets and form with the wall 20 of the drum 16 and the rib wall 90 pockets which open radially inward toward the axis of the drum. When the machine is brought up to the draining and distributing speed, any water in the ribs will be forced to the outer peripheries thereof and will tend to flow out through the outlets 89 into the pockets and the centrifugal force at the draining and distributing speed is insufficient to prevent this water from flowing radially inward out of the pockets into the bottom of the stationary cylinder 11a, and thence to drain.

At the still higher extraction speed, however, centrifugal force will retain any fluid emerging from the outlets 89 in the bottoms of the pockets formed by the baflies 91, so that the net result is merely a slight increase in the effective volumes of the ribs.

The outlets may be formed in either the leading or trailing walls of the ribs, or both, but a position in the trailing wall is somewhat more effective than in the forward wall. The angular position of the baffle will depend somewhat on the speed at which balancing water is to be permitted to flow thereover, but for washers in which retention is desired at speeds materially greater than 61 r.p.m., the baflie should make an angle of between 30 and 60 degrees with an axial plane passing through the corresponding rib outlet.

Test results have shown that in a machine without baflies in which the eifective balancing capacity was reduced 36.9% by reason of residual water, this loss was reduced to 18% when bafiles were added.

Drainage may also be facilitated by positioning the axis of the machine at a slight angle with the feed rings at the lower end, or by providing a frusto-conical drum having a greater diameter at the feed ring end. In either case a wall is provided for the balancing ribs which slopes toward the feed ring end through which the water leaves as well as enters the ribs.

What is claimed is:

1. In a self-balancing machine comprising a perforated drum, a housing in which said drum is rotatably mounted, means for introducing a washing fluid into said housing, circumferentially spaced compartments on said drum for receiving a balancing fluid, said compartments having walls extending in a direction transverse to the direction of rotation of said drum, means for driving said drum at a first range of speeds during a cycle of operations in which a supply of washing fluid is retained in said housing and at higher speeds during a cycle in which said washing fluid is no longer retained within said housing, and means for automatically introducing fluid into said compartments to compensate for imbalance of said drum, the improvement which comprises inlets to said balancing compartments for receiving said balancing fluid, said inlets being positioned to admit washing fluid to said compartments only while said washing fluid is being retained by said housing, outlets in said walls through which fluid in said compartments may escape, said outlets being positioned in the radially outer portions of said compartments and baffles positioned outside said compartments athwart said outlets, said baffles forming pockets which open radially inward, but block any substantial escape of fluid in any other direction so that centrifugal force will prevent escape of fluid from said pockets at said higher range of speeds, but permit such escape at said lower range of speeds when washing fluid is being admitted to said compartments through said inlets,

2. In a self-balancing machine comprising a perforated drum, a housing in which said drum is rotatably mounted, means for introducing a washing fluid into said housing, circumferentially spaced compartments on said drum for receiving a balancing fluid, means for driving said drum at a first range of speeds during a cycle of operations in which a supply of washing fluid is retained in said housing and at higher speeds during a cycle in which said washing fluid is no longer retained within said housing, and means for automatically introducing fluid into said compartments to compensate for imbalance of said drum, the improvement which comprises inlets in said balancing compartments for receiving said balancing fluid, said inlets being positioned to admit washing fluid to said compartments only while said washing fluid is being retained by said housing outlets in the walls of said compartments through which fluid in said compartments may escape, said outlets being positioned in the radially outer portions of said compartments, said-outlets opening in a direction transverse to those axial planes of said drum passing through said outlets, and baffles positioned outside said compartments athwart said outlets, said baflles forming pockets which open radially inward, but block any substantial escape of fluid in any other direction so that centrifugal force will precent escape of fluid from said pockets at said higher range of speeds, but permit such escape at said lower range of speeds when washing fluid is being admitted into said compartments through said inlets.

3. An improved machine as claimed in claim 2 in which said outlets are in the leading walls of said compartments.

4. An improved machine as claimed in claim 2 in which said outlets are in the trailing walls of said compartments.

5. An improved machine as claimed in claim 2 in which said baffles comprise wall portions which slope from a point near the radially outer edge of the outlets athwart which they lie, radially inward to a point circumferentially spaced from the inner edge of the same outlets.

6. An improved machine as claimed in claim 5, in which said baflle wall portions slope at an angle of from 30 to degrees away from an axial plane passing through the outlets athwart which they lie.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,539,533 1/51 Douglas 210-363 2,610,523 9/52 Kahn 210-144 X 2,687,215 8/54 Armstrong 2l0-144 X REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner.

operating at very much higher speeds than electromagnetic relays. Since the relays operate mechanically they are limited to operation with signals reversing at low speeds. The transistorized circuits described above can reverse polarity of the outputs at very high speeds since the transistors respond electronically instantly and repeatedly to reversal of polarity of input signals without mechanical wear.

The repeater circuits described operate for long periods without requiring any maintenance attention. The circuits can be constructed at low cost, much lower than circuits employing high quality electromechanical relays for repeater purposes.

I claim:

1. An electronic amplifier for amplifying and reversing polarity of polar input signals, comprising first and second transistors each having a base, emitter and collector, two high voltage power supply terminals of opposite polarity, means connecting said transistors in series between said terminals, a pair of output signal terminals, means connecting one of the output signal terminals to one power terminal and to a junction point between the transistors, the other of the output signal terminals being connected to ground, third and fourth transistors each having a base, emitter and collector, a pair of input signal terminals for receiving said polar signals, one of the signal input terminals being grounded, a voltage divider circuit including first, second and third resistors connected in series between the high voltage power supply terminals, the total resistance of the first and second resistors being less than that of the third resistor; the first transistor having its base connected to the collector of the third transistor, its emitter connected to said one power supply terminal, and its collector connected to said one output signal terminal; the second transistor having its base connected to the collector of the first transistor, its emitter connected to the one output signal terminal and its collector connected to the other power supply terminal; the third transistor having its base connected to a first junction point between the second and third resistors, and having its emitter connected to ground; the fourth transistor having its emitter connected to the grounded signal input terminal, having its base connected to the other input signal terminal, and having its collector connected to a second junction point between the first and second resistors; whereby a high signal voltage of one polarity appears at the output signal terminals when signal voltage of opposite polarity is applied at the input terminals, and whereby the polarity of the high signal voltage at the output terminals reverses when the polarity of the low signal voltage at the input signal terminals reverses,

2. An electronic amplifier as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a diode rectifier having an input terminal connected to the grounded signal input terminal and having an output terminal connected between the other signal input terminal and the base of the fourth transistor; a fourth resistor connected across the signal input terminals, a fifth resistor connected between the other signal input terminal and the base of the fourth transistor, and a sixth resistor connected between said first junction point of the second and third resistors and the base of the third transistor; whereby the first transistor renders the second transistor nonconductive, allowing the third transistor to become conducting, and the second transistor renders the third transistor nonconductive when the second transistor is conducting.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,803,703 8/57 Sherwin 17s 2,965,833 12/60 Jensen 307-885 2,981,895 4/61 Kock 330 1s 3,001,144 9/61 Dandl 330-18 3,015,781 1/62 Eklov 330 24 X 3,063,020 11/62 Horowitz 330-12 3,114,112 12/63 Cochran 330 17 3,124,758 3/64 Bellamy etal. 330 18 ROY LAKE, Primarly Examiner.

ROBERT H. ROSE, NATHAN KAUFMAN, Examiners. 

1. IN A SELF-BALANCING MACHINE COMPRISING A PERFORATED DRUM, A HOUSING IN WHICH SAID DRUM IS ROTATABLY MOUNTED, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING A WASHING FLUID INTO SAID HOUSING, CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED COMPARTMENTS ON SAID DRUM FOR RECEIVING A BALANCING FLUID, SAID COMPARTMENTS HAVING WALLS EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF SAID DRUM, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID DRUM AT A FIRST RANGE OF SPEEDS DURING A CYCLE OF OPERATION IN WHICH A SUPPLY OF WASHING FLUID IS RETAINED IN SAID HOUSING AND AT HIGHER SPEEDS DURING A CYCLE IN WHICH SAID WASHING FLUID IS NO LONGER RETAINED WITHIN SAID HOUSING, AND MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INTRODUCING FLUID INTO SAID COMPARTMENTS TO COMPENSATE FOR IMBALANCE OF SAID DRUM, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES INLETS TO SAID BALANCING COMPARTMENTS FOR RECEIVING SAID BALANCING FLUID, SAID INLETS BEING POSITIONED TO ADMIT WASHING FLUID TO SAID COMPARTMENTS ONLY WHILE SAID WASHING FLUID IS BEING RETAINED BY SAID HOUSING, OUTLETS IN SAID WALLS THROUGH WHICH FLUID IN SAID COMPARTMENTS MAY ESCAPE, SAID OUTLETS BEING POSITIONED IN THE RADIALLY OUTER PORTIONS OF SAID COMPARTMENTS AND BAFFLES POSITIONED OUTSIDE SAID COMPARTMENTS ATHWART SAID OUTLETS, SAID BAFFLES FORMING POCKETS WHICH OPEN RADIALLY INWARD, BUT BLOCK ANY SUBSTANTIAL ESCAPE OF FLUID IN ANY OTHER DIRECTION SO THAT CENTRIFUGAL FORCE WILL PREVENT ESCAPE OF FLUID FROM SAID POCKETS AT SAID HIGNER RANGE OF SPEEDS, BUT PERMIT SUCH ESCAPE AT SAID LOWER RANGE OF SPEEDS WHEN WASHING FLUID IS BEING ADMITTED TO SAID COMPARTMENTS THROUGH SAID INLETS. 